dead. our team, right there inside gaza. while inside israel tonight, that dome knocking rockets from the sky as sirens roar over tel aviv. tonight, the turning point. will israel send troops in? will there be a truce? christiane amanpour in jerusalem. back home, the first images of the woman at the center of the petraeus scandal. paula broadwell, out with her husband, arm in arm. now under greater scrutiny as investigators search her computers for secrets. it's here. the christmas shopping season about to begin. and tonight, inside the battle plan for black friday. the $78 flat screen? the deals they hope catch your eye. and backstage. 40 years ago tonight, america's oldest teenager with that brand new idea, turning a stage over to the next generation. good evening on this sunday night.

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and as we come on the air this evening, the situation in the middle east reaching a tipping point. will there be all-out war between the israelis and hamas in gaza? or will frantic, behind-the-scenes negotiations, talks in neighboring egypt, help bring an 11th-hour truce? on the ground, the casualties are mounting tonight. in gaza, women, children among the dead as the israelis were trying to target the home of a key militant. many others were hit by that missile. meanwhile, in israel, as families rush to shelters, holes where the hamas rockets have landed. and these images tonight. israel blocking some of those incoming rockets aimed for its most populated cities, knocked down from the sky. part of the so-called iron dome. president obama tonight vowing support, saying israel has a right to defend itself, while at the same time, saying a ramp up in military activity in gaza, a ground war, would be bad for both sides. we have a team in the region covering the middle east on the brink tonight. abc's christiane amanpour and matt gutman in israel. we begin tonight with alex

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marquardt in gaza city. alex? >> reporter: good evening, david. this was the deadliest day in gaza since this escalation began. in one incident, 11 people were killed, almost all of them from a single family. this as palestinian militants continue firing rockets into israel, the military says almost 1,000 of them so far. the thick smoke of the israeli air strike in one of the most densely populated places on earth. this is the house that was hit. it has now completely collapsed, and it really is chaos around here. two bulldozers, emergency crews, and really anybody around, digging through the rubble, trying to find anybody who survived. the israeli military was target ing a hamas rocket maker and hit a house that wasn't his. those dead included four children and five women. tempers are now flaring. more than 70 palestinians have been killed in the past five days. the wounded number almost 700.

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earlier in the day, israel struck two buildings with hamas and international media offices. they said they knew journalists were there, but that hamas was using the building for operational communications. six journalists were wounded. this as hamas and other militant groups kept up the onslaught of rockets flying into israel, many of them launched from those populated areas. gazans we spoke with today say they are skeptical of the chances of any real cease-fire. they told us they've simply seen too many agreed to and then broken. david? >> alex marquardt in gaza city tonight. alex, thank you. meanwhile, rockets from gaza are reaching deep into israel. sending families into shelters. abc's matt gutman is in israel tonight. matt? >> reporter: good evening, david. there are thousands of israeli troops massing on the gaza border right now, just a few miles south of me. but there's been no deterrent for the rain of rockets that have slammed into here. four of them in this town alone, one of them where i'm standing,

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sending a deadly spray of shrapnel four stories high. in this surveillance video, you see the flume of smoke engulfing the building. just today over 100 such rockets were lobbed into israel, nearly half intercepted by the iron dome defense system. the missile system which the u.s. helped develop has been knocking rockets out of the sky. instantly, radar detects a rocket's trajectory, firing an intercepting missile. so far the system has knocked out over 300 rockets, with a stunning 90% kill rate. israel has authorized the call-up of 75,000 reserves. tanks are already massing on gaza's border. another one of the sirens is just going off. this has been happening all day here. driving around, you see people trying to take shelter under the buildings and i'm going to pull over right now, too. some of the rockets get through. this one punched through several stories of this building and into alex's apartment.

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he didn't notice the sirens. his dog did. barking incessantly and forcing him to leave the room, a move he says saved his life. i want you to see this hunk of shrapnel. which penetrated a safe room on the second story. now, to give you a sense of the symmetry of cost here. the rocket that this came from, likely cost about $500. now, the iron dome missile sent to intercept it, $100,000. david? >> matt gutman tonight, thank you. and so, what's next? let's bring in christiane amanpour, in jerusalem tonight. great to have you with us on this. and it would seem we are approaching a turning point here. either a truce or a ground offensive. what are you hearing from your sources as far as what's more likely at this point? >> reporter: well, david, it's obviously incredibly tense and despite the back and forth, though, we do get the impression that a huge amount of effort is being made to try to get a cease-fire. israeli military officials have told us that they feel that of

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the 1,000 israeli air strikes on gaza, they say they've gone after a lot of the rocket launching capabilities that hamas has, including such things as underground remote-controlled rockets that they've been posting on youtube. >> and christiane, the israelis have not confirmed they are at the negotiating table, but that's the belief tonight? >> reporter: that is the belief tonight. we've been told by very high ranking officials that the negotiations are happening between the israelis and the egyptians. the egyptians, obviously on behalf of hamas. there are hamas involved and, of course, the united states is involved, trying to get all its allies to have them exert as much pressure as possible to get hamas to the negotiating table. so, that is the effort at the moment, but israel says, finger is cocked, and if they have to, they will pull that military trigger. >> abc's christiane amanpour, thanks to you, and to alex marquardt and matt gutman, all reporting in from the region tonight. at home tonight, paula broadwell was seen out on the

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arm of her husband for the first time since the scandal over her affair with general david petraeus. meanwhile, investigators are probing deeper into her files and into the general's, too. abc's david kerley has the latest tonight. >> reporter: tonight, paula broadwell with her husband and children -- >> is there anything you want to say? this is it. is there anything you want to say about this whole situation just to have one chance? >> we've got no comment at this time. >> reporter: returned to their charlotte home, after spending most of the weekend with relatives. mean while, fbi investigators continue to pour over broadwell's computer and boxes of evidence, taken from her charlotte home to determine if she had classified information she was not entitled to possess. this morning, differing views on whether the decorated army general needed to resign as director of cia after petraeus' affair with his biographer, broadwell, became public. >> i come from a tradition that believes in original sin. none of us is perfect. >> behavior is not acceptable, it's personally unacceptable behavior. >> reporter: his fall from grace

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has raised questions about how our leading generals live. and their transition to civilian life. four-star generals are surrounded by staff, security teams, valets and chefs, which all disappear when they take off the uniform. >> you see the medals he has. you see the stars. one day, he takes all of that off. it is a major adjustment. i think we need to look at this transitioning of people. >> reporter: feinstein added that is no excuse for petraeus' behavior. the senator also wants to know who authored the talking points on the benghazi attack, which the u.n. ambassador, susan rice, used. senator says she also wants to know why the cia information that terrorists were involved in that attack, were cut out of those talking points. david? >> a lot of debate over that in the days and weeks to come. david kerley, thank you. tonight, nearly two weeks now after mitt romney lost the election to president obama, real sign that some members of the republican party are trying to distance themselves from the

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one-time presidential candidate. it comes after romney's comments this past week to supporters, indicating president obama's victory came in part because he gave gifts to key voting groups. tonight here again, that sound, that recorded phone call with donors and how newt gingrich reacted to it right here on abc's "this week." >> what the president, president's campaign did was focus on certain members of his base coalition. give them extraordinary financial gifts from the government. and then work very aggressively to turn them out to vote. >> what do you think of that? is that where the republican party needs to go? >> i just think it's nuts. i mean -- first of all, it's insulting. this would be like walmart having a bad week and going, the customers have really been unruly. i mean, the job of a political leader is to understand the people. if we can't offer a better future that is believable to more people, we're not going to win. >> newt gingrich. and the republicans are moving quickly to action.

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florida senator marco rubio already visiting iowa this weekend, telling supporters not to lose hope. in other news tonight, divers in the gulf of mexico are searching for the body of a second worker who was missing after that oil rig explosion, after finding the body of one man last night. and tonight here, this new video -- >> holy [ bleep ], look at that! >> reporter: it shows the high fireball just after the explosion. it happened to be caught by a tv crew from some 20 miles away. officials say the blast was caused by a worker using a torch, but the rig's owner disputes that claim. also in the gulf tonight, an investigation into the mysterious deaths of dolphins there. someone is targeting them in a senseless and cruel way. abc's john schriffen is in gulfport, mississippi, tonight. >> reporter: just like a lovable pet, dolphins are some of the friendliest animals in the water. but tonight, authorities patrolling the gulf coast are on high alert for attackers responsible for brutally killing them. over the past two weeks, a

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disturbing sight here on the shores of the gulf. four dolphins found mutilated, either floating in the ocean or washing up on beaches in louisiana, mississippi and alabama. some have been found with bullet holes. one with its tail cut off. another missing its lower jaw. what kind of a person would do this? >> this has to be a person who is really deranged. i mean, no normal person would kill senselessly and then mutilate it. >> reporter: the results of the autopsies will determine not just how they died, but whether they were first tortured. the gulf is home to the largest population of dolphins in the united states, which is why the experts fear they could find more victims. >> very, very curious animals and when they come close to boats, you have somebody using them as target practice. >> reporter: and with such a large body of water to police, authorities are asking local fishermen to be on the lookout for anyone committing these crimes. the punishment for killing a dolphin? a fine of up to $100,000 and a

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maximum one year in jail. david? >> john schriffen, thank you. we're going to turn now to what will likely be the busiest travel week of the year, with thanksgiving nearing. look at this. along the pacific coast tonight, a major storm dumping heavy rain in san francisco, snow in the mountains. the storm could trigger air delays across the country. abc meteorologist ginger zee with us tonight. this is going to be a real mess. >> reporter: especially for airports in seattle and anyone driving in i-5. for the most part, the travel is looking decent for northeast hubs, center of the nation. but again, high alert from monday through wednesday, even on the holiday itself, for that pacific northwest. it's not just snow in the high elevations, but of course that rain and wind, gusts of 40, 50 miles per hour, on top of that, 8 to 12 inches of rain in that heavy area there, from the olympic mountains. you can't miss it. >> ginger zee, thank you, with the weather forecast. now, to the economic one tonight. concerns that congress won't reach an agreement to head off that looming fiscal cliff are

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already shaking the markets. the dow starting this week off down 1,000. in the past month, losing 7% of its value. and retailers are hoping that this holiday shopping season will give them a lift. abc's tanya rivero tonight. >> reporter: at this best buy in atlanta, workers do drill to prep for the door-busting crowds. shoppers across the country are already camping out so they don't miss out. >> i wanted to get here early. >> reporter: complete with plans for thanksgiving dinner in line here in florida. >> thanksgiving, mom comes out with the china and the plates. >> reporter: almost half of all americans are expected to shop over black friday weekend. but will sheer numbers deliver the big payday retailers are banking on? the wealthiest are expected to spend 3% less this holiday season. add to that, a holiday walkout planned by some walmart workers that could cramp sales. >> we're just demanding respect. >> reporter: and experts say the

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high stakes make shoppers the big winner. it's really become an arm's race. so, how good will the deals be? we hit a best buy to find out. we found $400 flat screens that will be going on sale for $180. you'll find a $500 savings on this nikon. and samsung laptops, like these, normally 550 bucks will be $200 cheaper midnight thursday. walmart will sell flat screens for $78, sears for $97 and target has pledged to match amazon's prices. a tip to shoppers who want a jump start. many stores are already offering deep discounts that will just get deeper in the days ahead. don't forget, this year, many of the exact same deals can be acquired from the comfort of your laptop. david? >> tanya, thank you. that christmas scene there already. still ahead here on "world news" this sunday night, authorities are calling it a family affair. they say a father, leading his two children, honor students and athletes, into a string of robberies. what we're learning tonight.

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anncr: but you deserve straight talk about the options on the... table and what they mean for you and your family. ancr: aarp is cutting through all the political spin. because for our 37 million members, only one word counts. get the facts at earnedasay.org. let's keep medicare... and social security strong for generations to come. we're going to turn now to that family accused o is we're going to turn now to that family accused of a string of bank robberies. did the father recruit his children? here's abc's mark greenblatt. >> reporter: look closely at the bank robbers in vests. police say they're part of a father, son and daughter team, an entire family of criminals, suspected of holding up seven banks in at least two states.

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but ronald scott catt and son hayden were arrested in connection in an armed holdup outside houston. investigators say that's hayden wearing a fake mustache. 18-year-old daughter abby is charged with driving the get away car. both children, who lost their mother at a young age, were honor students back home in oregon. hayden was a star on his high school swim team. eric lundeen knew the family. >> he was a single dad. and he had the responsibility to take care of those kids and i got to tell you, scott was there for them. >> reporter: but police now suspect the seemingly all american family robbed as many as five banks back in oregon. before scott moved his kids to texas. >> it's a complete shock. they were really solid community members. >> these suspects were identified in crimestoppers tips. >> reporter: police say surveillance tape did them in when they were seen buying their disguises at a home depot. no one has entered a plea yet.

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the family sits in jail tonight in texas. we found that the father has a long trail of money quotes, including a bankruptcy. >> mark, thank you. and when we come back here on the broadcast, usually they spoof him. but last night -- >> tonight, to comment, new jersey governor chris christie. >> he makes the "instant index" tonight. what the governor had to say. e "instant index" tonight. what the governor had to say. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts;

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spectacular eruptions captured by nasa. a monster of a storm, the super hot plasma in back-to-back systems this weekend. we're told the sun is in the most active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle. our video of the day, now, the other victims of hurricane sandy. dozens of orphan cats and dogs were flown to southern california to be adopted. they were moved from the east coast shelters here to make room for more animals abandoned or stranded by the storm. there's hope the animals will still be reunited with their owners, but if not, also hope they'll find new homes on the west coast. and our person tonight, new jersey governor chris christie. "snl" loves to spoof christie, but last night, they didn't have to. they got the real thing on "weekend update." he showed up wearing that same fleece jacket he's had on since hurricane sandy. >> i'd like to give a special thanks to my wife, who is here tonight, who put up with a husband who has smelled like a wet fleece for the past three weeks. >> you have been wearing that fleece a lot. >> oh, yeah, it's fused to my skin at this point. >> i have seen you wearing suits.

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>> yeah, i wear them over the fleece. i'm going to die in this fleece. but that's okay. it's a good fleece. >> it is a good fleece. >> stop saying things i've already said! >> okay! >> the governor doing the job himself last night. coming up, after so many thank yous -- >> thank you very much. >> some famous faces are just minutes away from returning the favor tonight. aces are just minutes away from returning the why use treatments when you can prevent the acid that's causing it with prevacid24hr. with one pill prevacid24hr works at the source to prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day and all night. and with new prevacid24hr perks, you can earn rewards from dinner deals to music downloads for purchasing prevacid24hr. prevent acid all day and all night for 24 hours with prevacid24hr. aww, not the mall.

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the american music awards would honor the biggest stars in music, based on who people were listening to. not their peers choosing, but the public. those early names you remember. >> village people. >> donna summer. >> kenny rogers. >> cyndi lauper. >> reporter: awards for the stars selling the most music. the stars who the fans were choosing on the radio. >> far out! >> anyone who tells you this isn't great is a liar. >> reporter: first year, 1972. dick clark with johnny cash here, his wife june carter cash, their son john holding the trophy. >> the one and only michael jackson. >> diana ross introducing >> michael jackson here in 1984, an award winner year after year. here with clark before rehearsals for the show. the stars were connected to clark. gloria estefan and the dalmatian she gave to clark as a puppy. he brought the dog that year so estefan could see how much she'd grown. and tonight, after so many thank yous on that stage -- >> thank you very much.

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>> it's some year, huh? >> outrageous! >> reporter: tonight, they'll say thank you to dick clark. stevie wonder, who won 11 times -- >> thank you, everybody, very much. ♪ >> reporter: will perform again tonight, providing the soundtrack for a thank you to the man who gave the fans a say in which stars would win on that stage. the american music awards tonight right here on abc. good morning america first thing in the morning. i hope you have a happy and healthy thanksgiving week. good night. hing. good night. >> next as 6:00, details about an officer-involved shooting in san jose. plus, fire crews on the scene of a two-alarm near san

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francisco. it's one of the earliest starts ever and it's happening right here in the bay area. why so many people are already in line for the black friday deals. good evening and thank you for joining us, i'm ama daetz. we're learning more about a man arrest after a high-speed chase and robbery. war live tonight in san jose with the latest. reporter: the girlfriend of 22-year-old rory petiford has been holding a musical vigil here. he was shot to dmeaght a 7-eleven parking lot friday night by wilbanks and another man who police say were on a friday night crime spree. a small memorial marks the area